Hawks’ Ballard tackles tackle position

The sprinter with the hammer thrower's body drew a few double takes.

At the time, Christian Ballard was a 6-foot-5, 260-pound senior at Lawrence (Kan.) Free State High School and the quintessential big man on campus. He was a tight end/defensive end on a football team that had sustained playoff success. He played power forward on the state's third-place basketball team. To top a sparkling athletics career, Ballard was a sprinter.

He ran the 100, 200 and filled a leg on Free State's 400 relay and was state-meet caliber.

“I was actually about 270 for track,” Ballard laughed. “I gained a little weight.”

Ballard's athletics resume shows why his career at Iowa started at tight end, veered to two successful seasons at defensive end and is now anchored at defensive tackle.

Last season, Ballard collected 40 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks at end. Saturday, he'll punch in at tackle.

Defensive end is a sexier position. It's usually where the sacks are. You're not asked to tie up 310-pound guards so linebackers can make the big play. Ballard obviously has the body for tackle, weighing in at 285 or more, but there's also a mental change that comes along.

“When you play inside, there's just an awful lot of traffic,” Coach Kirk Ferentz said. “You've got things happening from all sides. So the filtering process is a little bit different. When you're out on the edges your perspective is certainly a little bit more limited.

“And it's a little bit down and dirty in there, too, so you always wonder about how a guy is going to handle that.”

The experiment started in the spring. With Iowa short on bodies at tackle, Ballard volunteered his services.

“I told coach (D-line coach Rick Kaczenski) that I would be willing to change,” Ballard said. “I know Broderick did a good job at D-end last season. He made a lot of big plays, especially in that Purdue game. You look at him, he's a big, tough guy who can play the run and is a great pass rusher. I was open and willing. That's where I'll help the team the most.”

Broderick is sophomore D-end Broderick Binns. If the Hawkeyes had an award for “most production in the fewest snaps,” Binns would have been the hands-down winner last season. He had 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two pass breakups and two quarterback hurries. He played in all 13 games but didn't see regular action at end.

“(Ballard) told me long before this move that if it comes down to that, he's not going to get mad,” Binns said. “He's going to do whatever he needs to for the team to win. He's a good player and an all-around good guy.”

Binns' emergence and Ballard's sense of team have given Iowa's D-line flexibility.

Ballard's shuffle put sophomore tackle Mike Daniels on the bench, but Daniels, a powerful 270-pounder, will likely see regular playing time. Iowa suddenly has some depth at tackle to go with starter Karl Klug. Lebron Daniel, a sophomore, moves up a peg at end. During spring practice, Daniel drew praise from defensive coordinator Norm Parker.

“We're going to need six or seven guys,” Ferentz said.

And one freak athlete.